In the past, lawn and garden trailers have relied upon gravity and/or manual assistance in lifting the cargo bed from horizontal to inclined positions. Many such trailers were unable to attain a satisfactory dumping angle because they were pivotally connected to the chassis near the transverse midline on the cargo bed. In this manner, a substantial portion of the cargo weight was disposed rearwardly of the pivot points, thereby easing the task of lifting the front end of the cargo bed, but limiting the dump angle when the rear end of the cargo bed touched ground. Typically, it was necessary for the operator to leave the tractor and assist in the unloading process by opening and closing the tailgate and/or by moving the bed between cargo carrying and dumping positions. Thus, the present inventor was faced with the problems of devising a dump trailer lifting mechanism that would use the tractor's power to lift the cargo bed sufficiently high to unload the cargo.